"Wintertime" from 1943 was, I believe, the last film Sonja Henie made for Darryl F. Zanuck. To me, it was pretty poor with the exception of Sonja's fabulous skating. It's loud, a little slap-sticky, and the funny parts aren't all that funny. The film also stars Jack Oakie, S.Z. Sakall, Cornell Wilde, Carole Landis, and Cesar Romero. The story is sketchy and really just an excuse for the musical numbers, of which there are many. Nora (Henie) and her uncle (S.Z. Sakall) are in Canada to be part of a quota so they can immigrate to the U.S. They spend the night in a hotel in Canada which has seen better days. Nora develops a crush on the owner (Wilde) and talks her uncle into investing into the hotel. However, with his funds being frozen in Norway due to the war, the investment has put Nora's uncle in financial trouble now. Also, Nora starts to think her romance is one-sided when reporter Landis appears. Sonja was a first in many aspects of figure skating, and even today with more athletic moves, her talent can be appreciated. She was fast and had beautiful spins, as well a big personality. She was the first figure skater to wear the short skirt costume, the first to wear white boots, the first to make use of dance choreography, and she invented many skating techniques -- all things that remain in place today in the sport. She also made ice shows and figure skating popular. For the above reasons, seeing a Sonja Henie movie is always a treat. In this case, do yourself a favor and fast forward through the rest of it.

This film features a generous sampling of Woody Herman's 1943 Band. This was just before the famous Herd with Red Norvo,Sonny Berman,Chubby Jackson,Margie Hyams,Dave Tough et.al. Prominent in this Band are trumpeter-vocalist Billie Rogers,who would soon start her own Band,the great tenor man Vido Musso,trumpeter Chuck Petersen and drummer Frankie Carlsen. Woody gets to sing some songs including the title tune and we see a glimpse of his girl singer,Carolyn Grey in the "Dancing in the Dawn" number.The film itself is pretty weak and with Sonja in the lead,comparisons to "Sun Valley Serenade" are inevitable. All in all,a nice showcase for a Herman band in transition.

Musical movies in the 1930s and 40s were generally a string of musical numbers linked together by enough dialogue to fill out 90 minutes. The major studios usually made at least an effort to provide a plot that was not embarrassing and that more or less made the musical numbers fit.Twentieth Century Fox didn't bother here. Henie gets some nice skating numbers, but the plot, such as it is, is pretty lame.It hits a surprising low when it tries to motivate Henie's efforts to enter the U.S. by using the German invasion of Norway. That was very serious business, of course, and a real tragedy. It seems very strange to see it used here, almost completely unmourned, as an excuse for a plot twist.The secondary roles here are well played, especially by Cesar Romero, who was very talented. But the only real interest here is Henie's skating. The rest is pretty much a waste of time.

There isn't so much a storyline as there is a situation. Romantic issues occur at a winter resort in Canada with the arrival of its new prominent guests, portly S.Z. Sakall and his sweet niece, skater Sonia Henie. There's tons of deception but little in the way of plot development, filled with some brittle acid comedy and a long-lasting farcial sequence involving Cesar Romero stuck out in the snow in his long johns and his attempts to find clothes when he gets back into the inn. The laughs are plentiful as long as this sequence goes on, but other than a scene with one of the women involved in the minimal plot goes ballistic, telling off Romero while traipsing through the lobby of the crowded inn. Pretty inconsequential, "Wintertime" is pretty to look at but shabby otherwise, with the Canadian setting being spoofed with an ice skating version of "Indian Love Call" ("Rose Marie" on ice I refer to it...) and a lavish finale where Henie (a star only when skating) gets to show off her stuff. Jack Oakie is the top billed male star, but it's really Cesar Romero who gets the best material. A young Cornel Wilde is also amongst the cast. Henie's earlier films at least had more than a shell of a plot, so this one seems very rushed together in order to wrap up her seven year 20th Century Fox contract.